I first met Robert Morrill in 1979. He was 27 and had moved the year before to San Diego with his wife and two young children. The family had settled into a modest apartment on …
August 3, 2006
News & Stories
After 30 years, Reader writer revisits the Krishnas
Everything Is Pop
'I loved his art, I loved his image," says Cristina Favretto, director of Special Collections at San Diego State University. "And I loved that he would go places and people would speak for him and …
August 3, 2006
The Reader's Eye on Television
An Open Letter to Mel Gibson Mel, You've had a little trouble this past weekend. It's all right, Mel. We all slip on occasion. I have a proposal for you, Mel. I read about your …
August 3, 2006
Mule Racing Part II
Continuing with Don Jacklin, president of the American Mule Racing Association. He is, by the way, the Jacklin of Jacklin Seed, "one of the world's largest national and international grass-seed research, production, and marketing organizations." …
August 3, 2006
The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost his Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden by William Alexander. Algonquin Books, 2006, $22.95, 288 pages. FROM …
Climb Poway's Woodson Mountain via pavement, and loop back via a primitive north-side route.
Indians called it "Mountain of Moonlit Rocks," an appropriate name for a landmark visible, even at night, over great distances. Early white settlers dubbed it "Cobbleback Peak," a name utterly descriptive of its rugged, boulder-strewn …
August 3, 2006
Volatile State
My mother's alter ego is the Queen of Clean. She runs our household with an iron fist (usually covered by a yellow rubber glove), ready for battle with a Clorox Toilet Wand in one hand …
August 3, 2006
Comic Conclave
During last year's Comic-Con, I got a call informing me about a party at a hotel downtown. The agent from New York rattled off an A-list of stars who would be there but finished saying, …
August 3, 2006
Serious, Solid Farmers’ Nosh
“They rub the meat with salt, garlic, spices. You’ll taste all those good rubbings, all right.”
August 3, 2006
"Sheer Greed"
"Sheer Greed" is how one person described the price bump for parking at ipayOne Center's Slayer show on July 20. In the past, parking has cost $10 per car; Slayer fans paid $15. Through Arena …
August 3, 2006
Best Record in the World?
Since Tom DeLonge pulled the plug on blink-182 in February 2005, the other two members -- Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker -- haven't said much about their breakup...until last week. Barker spoke to MTV.com about …
August 3, 2006
Formerly Known as Brainstorm
The Jefferson Jay Project, the Jefferson Jay Band, The Jefferson Jay Show -- this guy keeps busy. Formerly known as Brainstorm, the Jefferson Jay Band has been playing around San Diego for five years and …
August 3, 2006
Where's the Dogg?
Over 100,000 people attended this year's Comic-Con, and Snoop Dogg almost wasn't one of them (he didn't arrive until after his scheduled appearances). The rapper missed a panel to promote his upcoming movie and comic, …
August 3, 2006
One Life to Lead
If you are living out of a sense of obligation you are a slave. -- Wayne Dyer You might think, after you read what I'm about to share, that I am a horrible person. But …
August 3, 2006
Endorse THIS Message
"Meeting Maxine Waters, Al Franken, Marc Maron, and DNC chairman Howard Dean was a hoot," says Jeff Berkley of DemocracyFest, a three-day political festival that took place July 14--16 at SDSU. His band Berkley Hart …
August 3, 2006
Not Entirely Gay
"I walked in one night, and it was dead," says Jeff "Mono Mono" Beringer about the open-mike night at Hillcrest's Brass Rail. "No one was there, so I approached the manager. I said, 'Give me …
August 3, 2006
MegaNews
Dave Mustaine has announced that the second edition of his multi-band Gigantour will launch in San Diego on September 7. Megadeth, Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill, and others will share the bill. The …
August 3, 2006
Yodel Power?
After much rescheduling, Jewel's "Punk Rock Angel Girl" cartoon shorts will begin airing on Nickelodeon around Halloween. According to a production assistant, "We had to wait for her script revisions, and she gets final approval …
August 3, 2006
Boat-hull Cleaning Services
For my nine-year-old, choosing a vocation is all about the gear. Now it's an astronaut, now a cowboy, now a fireman -- whatever equipment strikes him as cool that day. Last week while we were …
August 3, 2006
Sunny Somani in Bangalore, India
Arbitrary tales from east and west Never mind the title. All tales here are going to be based in the singular location on Earth called Bangalore. No, wait. The East refers to the eastern part …
August 3, 2006
Kroll Lollygags, Then Blames City Attorney
On March 28, 2006, Diann Shipione, the one who blew the whistle on San Diego's pension mendacity, received a letter from the City of San Diego's Audit Committee, composed of forensic accountants Kroll, Inc., and …
August 3, 2006
Another Bridge To Nowhere?
Four years ago, the City of San Diego hired Republican Patrick Garahan, a Coronado-based lobbyist, to persuade the United States Congress to pay for a multimillion-dollar pedestrian bridge. The bridge would link downtown's Petco Park …
August 3, 2006
Dead, Not Drunk
When beer magnate Pete Coors was pulled over in May by a Colorado cop for drunk driving, officials at UCSD probably weren't too sympathetic. Coors and his hard-partying siblings, heirs to the beer empire bearing …
August 3, 2006
Barrio Beat
Spending too much time waiting for freight trains to cross César E. Chávez Parkway (formerly Crosby Street) at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in Barrio Logan? So apparently are staffers for the Port of San …
August 3, 2006
Mirarmar Lynch Pins
Backers of moving San Diego International Airport to Miramar put their identities and some of their money on the table earlier this week, as revealed in a financial disclosure report filed Monday by the "Coalition …
August 3, 2006